At least 14 children were killed when a school bus fell into the waters of a canal in the city of Khammam, the website of the Indian television channel NDTV reported . Another 18 schoolchildren were taken to the hospital. As reported by NDTV, citing eyewitnesses, the bus, carrying 40 students from the LV Reddy School, plunged into a canal when the driver tried to avoid a collision with a cyclist. On Wednesday last week , a bus carrying schoolchildren from Belgium crashed in Switzerland .

March 20, 2012, 20:54 Politics Crisis in the area The opposition is preventing United Russia from choosing loyal chairmen Ekaterina Vinokurova close 100% A political crisis has broken out in a number of Moscow municipalities: opposition municipal deputies are not allowing the election of chairmen, who are supported by the city authorities and United Russia. This situation is new for Moscow; in the near future the authorities will try to regain their shaky influence, the expert says.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has placed a government order for the supply of Swiss Candino watches. The department plans to order 200 wristwatches (150 men's and 50 women's), the cost of which varies from ten to forty thousand rubles. Thus, the total amount of the government order can reach 4 million rubles.

Investigative authorities are conducting a search at the premises of an enterprise that is part of the AST group of companies of entrepreneur Telman Ismailov , as part of a criminal case of tax evasion.

The world's largest exchange, combining sites in the US and Europe, NYSE Euronext (NYX) and one of the largest European exchanges, Deutsche Börse, may merge, despite opposition from the EU authorities. Deutsche Börse will try to challenge the European Commission's ban on this merger; on Monday it filed a corresponding lawsuit in the Luxembourg court, The Wall Street Journal reports . “Inaccuracy” has crept into the European Commission’s assessment, the German stock exchange believes.

said on Tuesday Tensions in the military-political sphere increase the risk of Russia being drawn into various military conflicts, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov . “Over the past decade, the range of threats to Russia’s military security has expanded. The deployment of elements of the global missile defense system significantly disrupts the existing balance and overall strategic stability,” Serdyukov said at the expanded board of the Russian Ministry of Defense .

20 March 2012, 03:06 Sport Romantsev: the army team didn’t show anything extraordinary in the match with Spartak Spartak Moscow consultant Oleg Romantsev said that CSKA in the 35th round of the Russian Championship match with the red-whites (2:1) . did not demonstrate anything special “I have great respect for CSKA,” he told SE . “But in the meeting with Spartak, the army team didn’t show anything extraordinary. The opponent was tough. Nevertheless, I congratulate him on his victory.”

Apple TechChurch broke its own record and sold 3 million new iPad tablets, reports . “The new iPad is a blockbuster. With three million units sold, this is the most successful iPad launch ever,” TechChurch quotes Apple Vice President Philip Sheeler. Analysts' forecasts were more modest: from 500 thousand to 1 million devices. The first iPad was released in January 2010 and 300 thousand tablets were sold in the first weekend.

20 March 2012, 03:36 Sport Neuner: I feel that my real life is only beginning now German biathlete Magdalena Neuner , who spent her last season, said that she was still a little sad to leave her team. “I’m sad because I’m leaving my team and friends,” Soviet Sport reports her words . “I spent a significant part of my life with these people. But at the same time, my soul is very light. I feel like my real life is just beginning now!”

On Monday, in the match of the 28th round of the Spanish football championship, Espanyol hosted Racing and won with a score of 3:1. Goals: Verdu 26; Coutinho, 33; Moreno, 80 - Stuani, 12. Details of this and other matches, as well as the position of the teams in the standings, can be viewed on the Spanish Championship page.

March 20, 2012, 02:43 News In Moscow on Tuesday it is expected to reach +4, rain and snow In the Russian capital on Tuesday, the weather that has settled over the past few days will continue. As Roshydromet promises , in Moscow during the day it will be from +2 to +4. Partly cloudy weather, light rain, snow, and moderate westerly wind are expected. A more detailed forecast can be found on the weather page .

Sport UNICS scared Barcelona UNICS lost to Barcelona Ruslan Aliev close 100% UNICS couldn't put the finishing touches on Barca RIA Novosti In the first match of the quarterfinal series of the Euroleague, UNICS Kazan suffered an away defeat from the Spanish Barcelona. Khimki defeated Lokomotiv Krasnodar in the debut match of the European Cup quarterfinals.

Famous Australian football player Jim Stynes ​​has died at the age of 45. In the mid-1980s, Stynes ​​left Ireland, where he was born, to play for the Melbourne club. Stynes ​​became the first foreign footballer in Australia to win the mainland's most prestigious individual prize, the Brownlow Medal, which is awarded to the best player in the Australian Football League (AFL) at the end of the regular season. It was awarded to the player in 1991.

Sport Shaiduko: Russian yachtsmen plan to win two medals at the 2012 Olympic Games The Russian sailing team sets itself the task of winning two medals at the 2012 Olympic Games, said the President of the All-Russian Sailing Federation (ARSF) Georgy Shaiduko . At the Olympics, 10 sets of medals will be awarded in sailing. “Now our Olympic team is seriously preparing for the 2012 Games,” Shaiduko said. — Our plan for the Olympics is silver and bronze.

The International Literary Prize in Memory of Astrid Lindgren , awarded since 2003 for his contribution to the development of children's and youth literature, was awarded to the writer from the Netherlands, 69-year-old Guus Kuijer, the chairman of the international jury, Larry Lempert, announced on Tuesday in the city of Vimmerby.